Bridgette's Mermaid Tale
by Akela Victoire
Summary: Bridgette Summers thinks she's just an ordinary girl, but she's not. When on her sixteenth birthday she begins to notice mysterious changes around her, especially near water, her grandfather tells her the truth: she's the half-mermaid princess of an underwater kingdom that needs her help. It's not going to be as easy as her surfing the waves though...
1. Prologue

This will be a fairly short fic for me. I cannot imagine it going beyond 10-15 chapters roughly. It's inspired by and loosely based on a guilty pleasure of mine: Barbie movies, this one being _"Barbie in A Mermaid Tale"._

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

_**Sixteen Years Ago...**_

"She is beautiful, Your Highness..." The merman who entered the throne room bowed before his Queen.

The beautiful Queen of the underwater Kingdom of Aquarius smiled, holding her baby close to her, swishing her pale green tail slightly and her long, pale blonde hair floating around her head.

"Thank you, Ezekiel. She is. There is only one problem: she has been born as her father is: with _legs..._" The Queen unwrapped the seaweed green blanket warming her child, showing that the child she held did indeed have legs and not a tail. She may have greatly resembled her mother, but the tail was the missing vital element.

"Because of me, she will be able to breathe underwater, but she will not be safe from my sister. I must find a way to keep her safe from Heather..." The Queen sighed.

"Oh yes, Queen Dawn. Once she finds out you have had the child, she will come after her for sure..." Ezekiel said, worriedly flicking his grey tail.

"I need to find a way to keep her _safe..._" Queen Dawn said.

"Your Highness, you said that the Princess' father is Human. Will she not be safe in the Surface World with him then?" Ezekiel suggested.

"I would send her to be with her father, but I am told that he died just before I had her..." Dawn sighed sadly.

Ezekiel bowed his head for a moment. "Does she not have other Human relatives?"

"She has her grandfather, but I do not know if he will take her..."

"Then why not try and see, Your Majesty?"

Dawn sat silent for a few moments as she re-wrapped the blanket around her newborn daughter tightly.

Then she floated upright.

"I will try. I will send a message to her grandfather asking him to meet me in the cove." Dawn held up a hand and a glowing bubble formed in front of her.

Holding it close to her lips, she whispered into it for a few moments, then blew on it gently, sending it on its way.

Later that evening, Dawn packed a bag filled with her daughter's things, saving for last a silver jewellery box with the young Princess' name on the front.

Removing her silver necklace with a silver shell shaped pendant and a tear shaped aquamarine gemstone with a pearl in the centre embedded within the shell, she sighed as she opened the box and placed it gently inside before closing it.

The baby started to fuss slightly as she tucked away the jewellery box.

"Hush, hush, young one. You'll be okay..." She hugged the baby closer to her as she swam off; dodging the sharks and stingrays that seemed to get more in number the farther she got away from her palace.

At last, as the sea grew dark, she could see the light of the moon reflecting on the surface above.

She rose above the surface slowly, flicking her hair out of her face and comforting the child she held as she had started to cry.

"Shhh. It's going to be okay, my little daughter..."

Dawn glanced up to see an older-looking male figure on the beach.

"Thank you for coming, Walter..." She spoke softly as she swam up to the small cove where the figure paced up and down.

"How could I not come, Dawn? You are the mother of my granddaughter. I couldn't just abandon you both now. Trent would never forgive me and she is my only family left in this world..."

Dawn smiled weakly as she handed over her daughter as well as the bag of things she had packed for her.

Walter smiled at the baby, who had now calmed down and was looking at this new face curiously.

"What is my granddaughter's name?" He asked, smiling down at her.

"I have decided to name her Bridgette. Anything you need to know about her is in the large, light blue envelope. As for this..." Dawn reached into the bag and held up the jewellery box.

"You need to make sure she gets this when she turns sixteen and thus she comes of age in the mermaid half of her heritage. On that day, she may be able to save Aquarius from Heather's tyranny if there is anything of it left by then..." Dawn sighed sadly.

"Must you go back? You would be safe here as well..." Walter pleaded.

Dawn turned away, beginning to descend into the water slowly.

"I would, but unlike Bridgette, I do not have legs and I cannot make them. Plus my people are at war with Heather and her forces. I cannot abandon them at a time like this..." Dawn glanced back at her daughter and her daughter's grandfather.

"Please take care of my little Princess until she is ready to meet her destiny, Walter..." She waved sadly before diving into the water again.

With a tear in his eye, Walter spoke softly even though Dawn would never be able to hear him.

"Of course, Dawn. Bridgette will lead a happy life here on land until she is ready to rejoin you again. I will make sure of it..."

He turned to leave, clutching the only little person he had left in this world, determined to make good on his promise.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Present Day...**_

"Happy Birthday, Bridgette!"

The now sixteen year old Bridgette blew the candles on her birthday cake, as her grandfather Walter, her boyfriend Geoff and her two best friends in the world, Gwen and Lindsay cheered her on.

"Thanks guys!" Bridgette flicked back her ponytail as she began to cut the cake.

"Gifts! Open your gifts!" Lindsay cheered, handing Bridgette an envelope.

"Oh, what's in here?" Bridgette opened the envelope carefully.

"A fifty dollar voucher to Surfside Cafe? Thanks!" Bridgette hugged Lindsay in thanks.

"Enough of that. This is mine." Gwen shoved an indignant Lindsay out of the way handing her a rectangular box wrapped in black wrapping paper.

"What's this now..." Bridgette opened the box to reveal a set of books about plant, animal and sea life.

"You guys know me so well!" The birthday girl smiled.

"If you like those, you'll be sure to like mine!" Geoff grinned, handing her another envelope, which turned out to be a voucher for few hours out on jet skis.

"And I most certainly do like it!" Bridgette gave him a chaste kiss, mindful of her grandfather's presence.

"I'll give you my gifts when you get back from that surfing competition, Bridgette. You'd better go get ready now. It's almost time!" Walter exclaimed.

"Oh my goodness! You're right!" Bridgette's eyes widened and she ran up to her room, grabbed her surfing gear, ran back down the stairs, deposited it in the living room and ran back upstairs with her bodysuit to change.

Slamming the door behind her, she scrambled to get the suit on and took a tumble to the ground.

But she didn't hit it.

Somehow, as she had reached her hand towards the tap in the bathtub, it had turned on and the water flowed out to form something like a giant watery hand to break her fall.

"_Oh no!"_ She thought. _"Not again!"_

For the past few weeks, water had been behaving oddly around her.

Water moved around her in strange ways and even changed properties without her doing anything to it, but this incident was the weirdest one yet.

Shaking it off, she got back up, pulling on the bodysuit quickly and dashed downstairs to the others, who had already loaded her gear into the car.

"I just hope no more weird stuff happens today at this competition..." She thought as she fastened her seatbelt and they drove off to the site of the surfing competition.

* * *

"And here we have Contestant Number Three, Bridgette Summers!"

The crowd at the surfing contest cheers as Bridgette waded out into the water with her surfboard.

Gwen and Lindsay were in their swimwear as well as they intended to go swimming with their friend after the contest was over.

"YOU GO BRIDGETTE! SHOW THEM WHO'S THE QUEEN OF THE WAVES!" Geoff yelled louder than anyone else on the beach.

"_Yes, Bridgette. Show them what you're made of..." _She thought as she finally started to surf.

Weird problems with water that morning forgotten, she felt the wind blow around her as she did all of her impressive surfing moves and turns.

She wrapped up her routine and made her way back to shore.

"That was great!" Lindsay cheered as she hugged her friend tightly.

"_Lindsay... can't... breathe..." _Bridgette wheezed.

"Sorry..." She drew back.

"I don't really do affection, so you'll have to make do with a handshake from me instead." Gwen extended her hand.

"Oh?" Bridgette raised an eyebrow as she shook out. "You don't do affection? Explain Cody then..."

"_None of your business!"_ Gwen snapped and her female friends giggled.

"Look, they're about to announce the winner!" Walter exclaimed.

They made their way closer to the stage.

The announcer stood with a table of trophies behind him.

After the announcer gave away various awards, he got to the one for first place.

Taking up a large gold trophy with a wave carved into the front, he walked back to the microwave.

Holding Geoff's hands so tightly he could barely feel them, Bridgette waited for the announcement of the winner.

"And the winner of this year's Malibu Surfing Contest is... _Bridgette Summers!_"

Bridgette squealed so loudly that those around her cringed and covered their ears as she ran up onto to the stage to accept the award.

"Thank you so much! This makes such a wonderful birthday present since I turn sixteen today!" She exclaimed, holding the trophy high into the air and crowd cheered even more.

"Well then, Happy Birthday, Miss Summers!" The announcer said.

Bridgette nodded happily as she ran back with the trophy to her friends, boyfriend and grandfather.

"I'll take this while you go and have fun with your friends, okay?" Walter took the trophy from her and headed back to the car.

* * *

Back in the water once again, Bridgette lay on her stomach on the surfboard as she went out into the water.

Flipping onto her back, she was just content to float as she watched her friends on the shore. Gwen and Lindsay were actually building a sandcastle together despite the former looking rather annoyed with the latter.

Geoff was off talking to some other friends and laughing at some joke.

Her hand traced circles in the water as her mind started to wander off to the strange happenings around water she had experienced recently, especially the incident in her bathroom earlier that morning.

As she was thinking, she wasn't paying much attention to the waves around her and one particularly large wave bowled her over before she could even exclaim her surprise.

When she resurfaced, sputtering, she moved her soaked, dripping ponytail out of her eyes and noticed-

Her ponytail was no longer just blonde.

There were blue streaks in it.

"EEP!" Bridgette ducked under the water before anyone could see that her hair had changed colour.

She looked around the water frantically and glanced at her hair again.

It was still blue.

She let go a breath and when she realised that fact seconds later, she tried to catch her breath again, but she found that she didn't need to.

She could breathe underwater.

Her eyes widened at the realization.

It was while she was in this panicked state that she managed to swim even further beneath the surface and encountered a pinkish-silvery dolphin.

"Hi!" It said to her in a female's voice.

"EEP!" Bridgette swam back, startled.

"You don't have to be afraid of me! I won't hurt you!" The dolphin spoke again.

"I must be suffering from lack of oxygen. That's it!" Bridgette told herself.

"How can you if you can breathe underwater, silly?" A girl with dark brown hair in a ponytail even shorter than Bridgette's, a pair of thick-framed glasses, braces and an acne problem swam up alongside the dolphin.

When Bridgette looked her down however, she was startled again.

This girl didn't have legs.

She had a dark purple tail! A... a... _mermaid_ tail!

"Okay, that's it. Enough swimming for me today!" Bridgette declared, swimming up to the surface as fast as she could.

Her surfboard had washed ashore and her friends were standing with it, chattering and looking worried as they did.

"BRIDGETTE! YOU'RE OKAY!" Lindsay cried, running to hug her, but she put out her hands in time to stop another bone-crushing hug.

"We thought you'd been swept out to sea or something!" Geoff kissed her and drew back.

"Um... Bridgey, why is your hair blue?" Geoff asked, puzzled.

"I have about as much an answer to that question as you do, Geoff..." Bridgette ran her fingers through her hair as she snatched her sunhat from Gwen's hand, rolled up her hair and jammed the hat on her head.

"Why do you have to hide it? I kinda like it!" Gwen said in approval.

"When you hair changes colour suddenly, you have to wonder why it did. It's not normal! I'm going home to see if my grandpa has something to make my hair normal again!"

Bridgette ran into the changing rooms, changed quickly into her street clothes, grabbed her gear and ran off the beach, not stopping or slowing down until she reached home.

* * *

"Great! You made it back okay! I have the rest of your gifts right here!" Walter smiled at his granddaughter as she dashed through the door.

"Oh... Hi grandpa..." She said nervously, tucking a stray strand of hair back under the hat.

Trying to push the issue of her colour changing hair to the back of her head she sat next to him on the sofa.

"Take this first. The second gift I've saved for last..." Walter handed her an envelope which turned out to contain a voucher to a clothing store.

"And this..." Walter pulled out the jewellery box that Dawn had given him to give to Bridgette sixteen years ago.

"_Wow..._ What is this?" She said in awe.

"A jewellery box. Your mother said you were to have it on your sixteenth birthday..." Walter answered slightly sadly.

Bridgette opened the box and although there were many other beautiful pieces of jewellery inside, one particular necklace caught her eye.

_A silver necklace with a silver shell shaped pendant and a tear shaped aquamarine gemstone with a pearl in the centre embedded within the shell._

The same necklace her mother had worn years ago although Bridgette didn't yet know it.

"All of this was really my mother's?" Bridgette asked, still in awe as she removed the necklace and examined it, before putting it on.

"Yes. She told me that your turning sixteen would be a most important day in your life. More than most other girls you would know..."

Bridgette detected a change in her grandpa's tone. "Grandpa? Are you... okay?" She asked.

"I am, but the question is... _are you? _Have you been experiencing some... _unusual_ changes lately?" Walter asked.

"Wha- what do you mean?" Bridgette asked, startled. He couldn't have known what happened, _could he?_

"I mean, water behaving weirdly around you, being able to breathe underwater, _hair changing colours..._" Walter counted off the changes on his fingers.

Bridgette whipped off her hat. "You knew about _this_ the _entire _time?!" She asked, pointing at her blue-streaked hair.

Walter nodded. "I knew it would happen, your mother being what she was and all. She passed those traits and powers onto you, just like she said would happen when you turned sixteen..."

"Powers? What are you talking about?!"

Walter sighed. "Sixteen years ago, your father fell in love with a beautiful woman named Dawn. She was Queen of a faraway kingdom under the sea called Aquarius. Her sister, your aunt Heather wanted to rule the sea and tried taking it over. You were born only a few days after your father died. Dawn knew you wouldn't be safe from Heather under the sea with legs... so she brought you here..." He paused to take in Bridgette's stunned expression.

"...You see, Bridgette... your mother Dawn was a mermaid, meaning that you are half-mermaid yourself and since Dawn was Queen of Aquarius, that makes _you_ the _Princess_ of Aquarius and as such, heiress to their throne..."

Bridgette shook her head in disbelief. "No, no, no. All those stories you used to tell me about mermaids in kingdoms under the sea when I was little can't be true. They just _can't!_ I am _not_ some freaky half-mermaid princess! I'm just Bridgette Summers, ordinary _human_ girl! NO! No way!"

She ran off to her room, leaving her grandfather to clutch his head in his hands and sigh.

"_I know it's going to be hard, my dear granddaughter, but it is something you must do. You can run away from it, no matter how hard you try..."_

* * *

Meanwhile, Bridgette had gotten ready for bed and sat up in her four poster bed, wearing her favourite blue pyjamas.

She glanced down at the necklace her grandfather had given her that evening, taking in every element of the design, running her fingers carefully over it.

"This necklace can't come from some mermaid queen who turns out to be my mom. It just _can't. _I'm no half-mermaid princess with freaky powers. These weird things that have been happening to me are all just a really strange dream..." Bridgette yawned and sunk into the bed, her mother's necklace still in her grasp.

"Just a... _yawn..._ dream..."


	3. Chapter 2

"So… your grandfather told you that you are a half mermaid princess from a kingdom under the sea?" Gwen raised a skeptical eyebrow as she, Bridgette, Lindsay and Geoff sat in their favourite cove.

"Yep." Bridgette skipped a stone on the water.

"That's the trippiest thing I've ever heard, dudette..." Geoff commented.

"I believe it!" Lindsay exclaimed, making Gwen roll her eyes.

"You believe that Bridgette is part mermaid even when everyone knows that mermaids don't exist?"

"They do too! Why would Bridgette's grandpa lie to her?" Lindsay asked.

"Maybe he thought it would be a funny joke or something…" Bridgette shrugged.

"Lying to you about your mom and dad doesn't sound like my idea of a funny joke…" Lindsay folded her arms and pouted.

"It also doesn't explain all these weird things happening to me around water either…" Bridgette pointed to her hair where instead of it having blue streaks, it now looked more like blue highlights.

"Magic tricks. Ten bucks on the internet." Gwen waved dismissively.

"Those weren't magic tricks… That was real magic!" A voice Bridgette thought she'd heard only in her dreams said from the direction of the water, startling them all.

Geoff peeked out from behind the rock he had jumped behind.

"Girls, is that…" Geoff took in the sight of the purplish-pink dolphin that had surfaced.

"… a pink talking dolphin?" Gwen finished, wide-eyed.

"Ooh! She's so pretty!" Lindsay was the first to run forward and greet her. "What's your name?"

"I'm Janey." The dolphin answered.

"Oh great. So my hallucination has a name now…" Bridgette sighed, walking forward.

"Janey's not a hallucination!" The girl Bridgette had seen underwater popped up next to the dolphin, startling them all again.

"Where in the name of Neptune did you come from now?" Geoff asked, now emerging from behind his safety rock.

"Aquarius…" Janey and the girl answered in unison.

"Aqua- no way…" Bridgette backed up.

"Yes way! We came from your mother's homeworld, Princess!" The girl said.

"We hear stories of your existence all the time but to see that Queen Dawn's daughter actually exists!" The dolphin said excitedly.

"Bridgette, are we all having the same lucid dream?" Gwen asked, still looking stunned.

"It's not a dream! We need you, Princess Bridgette! Aquarius cannot survive for much longer without you and your powers!" The girl said.

"Nope. Still a dream. And this necklace?" Bridgette removed the necklace from the last night that she had been so fascinated with and threw it against a rock. "Is nothing but a fake!"

When the necklace hit the rock, instead of shattering or even cracking slightly, it floated into the air just in front of Bridgette with a soft, white glow.

Above the pendant, in what looked like a cloud of mist, an image formed of a beautiful, blonde mermaid with a light green tail sitting sadly on a shell chair, holding a bluish-silvery substance between her hands.

The girl broke the ensuing silence as the four teenagers with legs stared at the image.

"See? That image proves that Queen Dawn exists and that she is alive somewhere! Queen Heather must have kidnapped her and has her trapped somewhere!" The girl exclaimed.

"I think I may believe you now…" Bridgette said, still in awe of the supposed image of her mother, until it faded away and she shook her head to clear it.

Kneeling down to take up the necklace and fasten it around her neck, she began to think out loud.

"If I go with Janey and this girl, maybe if I help them, I can be a normal girl again and make all this weird stuff go away!" Bridgette gestured to the blue highlighted hair on her head.

"Are you being serious right now" Gwen and Geoff asked in unison.

"Yes I am! All these weird "powers" and the hair changing colour… I can't live like that forever…"

"I think Bridgette should go on this underwater adventure to save her kingdom!" Lindsay cheered.

"Even if this "Aquarius" place really existed, how would you even get there?" Gwen asked.

"I would take her!" The girl glanced at her dolphin friend and corrected herself. "WE could take her! My fins may not look like much, but I can move faster than a lot of people think!"

"This is crazy!"Gwen and Geoff exclaimed.

"I know it is, but so is my hair changing colour and water behaving as if I'm from the Water Tribe…" Bridgette made up her mind, glancing at the girl in the water who was flicking her tail back and forth out of the water with Lindsay following its every move.

"My name is Beth by the way. I never introduced myself earlier, sorry about that. I figure if we're about to go on an adventure together, we should at least know each other's names…" The girl in the water said.

"Yeah, know each other's names…" Bridgette chuckled nervously.

"Are you seriously going with them, Bridgette?" Geoff asked, still sounding incredulous.

"I am. It's the only way I can get control of these freaky powers and get my hair back to normal, so what else am I supposed to do?" She asked as she began to wade into the water.

"Well then, if you're really going…" Geoff kissed her. "That's for good luck."

Gwen and Lindsay rushed forward and initiated a group hug.

"I know I said I don't do affection, but you really are my best friend. You know that, right?" Gwen actually managed a half smile.

"Of course I do!" Bridgette smiled back.

"Good luck, Princess!" Lindsay wished her excitedly.

"Thanks, Lindsay. Guys, I need you to make sure that Grandpa knows where I went, okay? I don't want him to worry…"

"He'll be worried once he hears you're off to defeat an evil queen anyway…" Geoff shrugged.

"Well, goodbye, I guess. I'll be back soon!" Bridgette waved to them as she waded deeper and deeper into the water with Beth and Janey and soon disappeared from sight.

* * *

Now under the water fully, Bridgette marveled at her being able to breathe underwater now that she was calm and sure that she was not delusional.

"Come on, Bridgette! We've got to get you to your kingdom!" Beth cheered.

"_Yeah… Kingdom…"_ Bridgette thought. _"Where hopefully I can find a way to me a normal HUMAN again…"  
_


	4. Chapter 3

Swimming this deep into the ocean was a totally new experience for Bridgette. The fact that she was doing it without any gear of any sort amazed her.

Beth and Janey swam on either side of her, telling her all sorts of tales about life in Aquarius.

"You've got to try the fried coral seaweed wraps! They're so delicious!" Beth exclaimed.

"We've got lots of beautiful museums there, Bridgette. One of them has a collection of royal portraits and even though there is one of Queen Dawn, there is none of you…" Janey said.

Fried coral seaweed wraps? Museums in which her portrait was supposed to be hung? Her mind still had trouble wrapping around the idea.

At least until she was some lights up ahead.

The she would have even more to be amazed at.

The buildings were made of a combination of what seemed to be glass, coral and other materials that Bridgette didn't think she'd ever seen or would see before.

Merpeople with brightly coloured tails swam around happily with their families, friends and by themselves as they went about their business.

A mother bought a seaweed flavoured ice-cream cone for her little boy and he swam along with his mother happily.

Stores were lit up and people went in and out of them with various kinds of bags.

"Ooh! What do you think of this tail?" A mermaid around her age held up a light green tail to her own.

"It would look so great on you. It matches your eyes!" Her friend giggled.

Bridgette was broken out of her daze by Beth. "Come on, Bridgette. We've got to get you Lacey's! My friends Katie and Sadie can help you disguise those weird legs of yours…"

Bridgette glanced down at her legs, which were currently hidden by a mess of seaweed.

_"Yeah. Weird legs indeed..."_ Bridgette thought wryly.

They swam along, ducking behind various objects whenever other merpeople passed too close for their liking.

"Almost there, Bridgette. We'll soon get you a tail, don't you worry!" Beth exclaimed.

They turned another corner and were about to pass a lovely garden with lots of large, beautiful plants when Bridgette heard a loud, odd sound which made all the merpeople stop in their... _swims_.

Beth and Janey froze.

"Oh fishsticks! We've got to hide you somewhere now!" Beth exclaimed in fright.

"Why, what's wrong?" Bridgette asked.

"I'll tell you later. Let's go!" Beth and Janey pulled her behind a particularly large set of coral and seaweed with a few holes in it that they could peek through.

_"It's the Heather Festival..."_ Beth whispered.

_"What's the Heather Festival?"_ Bridgette whispered back.

_"Ssh!"_ Janey put a fin to her mouth.

"All hail Queen Heather!" A merman with brown hair and a grey tail swam in front of a pair of giant seahorses who were pulling a shell carriage.

"All hail Queen Heather!" The people chanted, though without any distinct cheer of any sort to it.

"Oh come now, merpeople! I'm sure you could do better than that!" A red-tailed mermaid with long, black hair and brown eyes floated out of the carriage.

"ALL HAIL QUEEN HEATHER!" The people chanted louder.

"Now, _that's_ better." She said smugly.

_"Is she...?"_ Bridgette trailed off, nodding her head at the haughty-looking red-tailed mermaid.

_"Yes, that's your aunt, Queen Heather. Now shh!" _Janey shushed her again.

"People of Aquarius, I give you your Merillia!" Queen Heather raised her hands above her head, forming the same bluish-silvery substance between her hands that Bridgette had seen her alleged mother within the image her necklace had projected.

The merpeople cheered.

Bridgette rubbed the necklace nervously.

The merpeople cheered even louder as she released it and it spread out into the ocean.

Queen Heather smiled at all the people cheering for her and swam back towards her shell carriage, but stopped suddenly.

"YOU!" She shouted, turning around sharply and pointing at a mermaid that looked slightly younger than Bridgette who had been paying more attention to her shell-phone than Queen Heather.

"Who me?" She asked, going completely still and eyes going wide.

"Yes you! What were you doing during the Heather festival?" She narrowed her eyes at the girl's shell-phone.

"I... _Um..._" The girl stammered.

"I thought so..." Queen Heather made as if to turn back but then turned around suddenly, forming a whirlpool which moved forward quickly, sweeping up the now fully terrified and screaming young mermaid.

"_That _is a lesson to all of you. When there's a Heather festival, you pay attention to _me_ and _nothing else! _Or I'll send you to the deepest trench at the bottom of the ocean like that foolish girl!" She snapped, bending down to pick up the girl's fallen shell-phone and tossing it towards the same bunch of coral that Bridgette, Beth and Janey were hidden inside.

Bridgette made a small gasp of horror.

"Come Ezekiel. Let's go." Queen Heather glared around at the terrified merpeople one last time before swimming back into her shell carriage.

"Make way for Queen Heather!" The grey-tailed merman swam in front of the carriage as it went off.

"That... was horrible!" Tears almost came to Bridgette's eyes as she replayed the young girl being swept up into the whirlpool over and over in her mind.

"I know, but that's what's been happening ever since she took over. The people only tolerate it because she's the only one now who knows how to make Merillia..." Beth explained as they left the coral area only when the merpeople had dispersed.

"What's Merillia?" Bridgette asked.

"That bluish-silvery stuff that you saw Queen Dawn holding in the image projected from your necklace and the stuff that Queen Heather released into the sea. It's the very life force of the sea. Without it, Aquarius could weaken and die..." Janey explained.

"Yeah, but hers isn't as good as Queen Dawn's was. Look at this coral. It's not supposed to look all brown like this..." Beth said in disgust, brushing off a piece.

"Her Merillia keeps Aquarius alive, but only just. It's a much poorer quality and it doesn't do as much good, which is pretty much what Beth Just said..." Janey said sadly.

"I can see that..." Bridgette examined the coral and seaweed more closely. It did indeed look weaker than it should...

"Now come on! We've got to get you to Lacey's before anyone sees you!" Beth and Janey wrapped more seaweed around Bridgette's legs and led her towards a large store with Lacey's spelled out on the top with a mixture of different types of seashells.


	5. Chapter 4

_**HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!** _Today, August 27 is my birthday so this is part of my Annual Fanfiction Birthday Publishing Session! (I have yet to come up with a better name.) Anyway, I hope you like it and you know what I want for my birthday? More reviews! :D

* * *

"Bye there! Come again!" A tanned-skinned, black-haired mermaid with a light pink tail waved a customer out of the shop.

"Hey Sadie! Do we have any of those sea silk blouses left?" She called over to a pale-skinned overweight mermaid, with dark hair in a similar hairstyle and a dark pink tail.

"I dunno! Let me check, Katie!" Sadie called back, swimming into a back room.

Beth, Bridgette and Janey swam up to the door.

"Oh no! It's closed!" Bridgette said disappointedly.

"Don't worry about that! They'll still let us in!" Beth pushed the door open.

"Oh hey. Lacey's is closed for the day so you'll have to come back tomorrow. Sorry!" Katie said without looking in their direction.

Beth rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

"Katie, would you at least pay attention to who comes in? I could have been an eel burglar or something coming to rob you!" Beth exclaimed exasperatedly.

Katie turned around. "Wait, Beth? Really? EEE! I'm so glad to see you! Sadie, get out here! Beth came by for a visit!" Katie swam over for a hug as Bridgette drifted off to look around the store.

"Really? Beth's here? EEE!" Sadie squealed from the back room and came swimming out, knocking Katie and Beth over in the water like a barrel rolling down a hill.

"They do that every time..." Janey rolled her eyes as she swam around the store next to Bridgette.

"Girls, I need you help with something really important!" Beth said as they finally stopped rolling around in the water.

"Sure, Beth. What do you need? A new outfit? New jewellery?" Katie asked.

"A new hairstyle?" Sadie suggested, holding up a brush and comb.

"What's wrong with my hair?" Beth ran her fingers through her hair looking slightly hurt.

"Nothing, nothing!" Sadie back-tracked, seeing how hurt Beth looked.

"Ahem! Beth, remember what we came here for?" Janey folded her fins, looking upset.

"Ah, Janey! How's our favourite dolphin? And wait... who's this you brought with you?" Katie said, watching Bridgette who was watching her nervously.

"This... This is Bridgette." Janey gestured the blonde, who waved nervously.

"Hey Sadie! Look! Beth and Janey brought a new friend over to visit!" Katie called.

"A new friend? YAY!" Sadie swam over quickly, with Beth close behind.

"This is very important, you two. You can't tell anyone what we say here, _understand?_" Beth looked at the two shopkeeper mermaids seriously.

"We understand, but why the secrecy?" Katie raised an eyebrow.

"Bridgette here... is Queen Dawn's daughter!" Beth exclaimed.

"What? Really? No way!" Sadie exclaimed.

"Yeah, right. Isn't Queen Dawn's daughter supposed to have legs? I don't see any legs on her..." Katie looked Bridgette up and down, looking at her bodysuit and seaweed-wrapped in legs in obvious disapproval.

"Oh? Bridgette here _does_ have legs..." Beth and Janey swam over to her and yanked off the seaweed wrapped around Bridgette's legs to reveal that yes indeed, Bridgette did have legs.

"Eep! Are those real legs?" Sadie went to hide behind Katie, though being as... _big_ as she was, it didn't quite work out for her...

"Um... Yes?" Bridgette answered nervously.

"And she has Queen Dawn's necklace too! Show them, Bridgette!" Beth urged.

"Okay..." Bridgette pulled out the necklace, which had been tucked into her bodysuit.

Katie and Sadie gasped.

"It_ is_ her!" They said in unison.

"Sadie, help me shut all the covers on the windows and doors before anyone sees those legs!" Katie swam around frantically trying to do so and Sadie followed her command.

"Phew. You should have said that earlier and we'd have shut the covers. I hope no one saw..." Katie looked around nervously.

"Me too..." Janey said fervently. "Now... Can you help us make Bridgette look like a real mermaid? She can't exactly swim around Aquarius looking like _that..._"

"Certainly! That's what we run Lacey's for, isn't it?" Sadie exclaimed, gesturing to the many mermaid tail covers hanging around the shop with all sorts of different designs, tops and accessories.

"Come here and we'll fix you up to look as close to a real mermaid as we can get you!" Katie took one arm, Sadie took the other arm and they hauled off towards the clothes.

Janey and Beth floated to one side, content to just watch.

"Here, try these!" Katie shoved a pile of clothing into Bridgette's hands and shoved her into a changing room to mild objections from the blonde.

A few minutes later, Bridgette came out wearing a rainbow patterned tail and an orange bikini top.

"NOPE!" They all shouted.

Bridgette swam back into the changing room and re-emerged, this time donning a lime green shirt and a brown tail.

"Certainly not!" Katie said in disgust, shoving her back in.

Bridgette came back out, wearing a black spiky tail and a black top with silver spikes sticking out of the short, puffy sleeves.

"Eew..." Sadie wrinkled her nose in disgust.

When Bridgette re-emerged a few minutes later, she was wearing a dark blue, sleeveless halter top that showed off her stomach and a simple light blue mermaid tail.

"PERFECT!" Katie, Sadie, Beth and Janey exclaimed.

"You could pass for a real mermaid in that outfit now!" Katie squealed.

"You look _swimmingly _fabulous!" Sadie exclaimed.

"Thanks!" Bridgette smiled. "But now that I look like a mermaid... how do I defeat Queen Heather?" She asked, sounding nervous again.

"Well, you could try The Destinies..." Sadie suggested.

"Yeah! The Destinies know everything about the ocean, Past, Present _and_ Future! You should like, totally go ask them!" Katie said.

"Great idea!" Beth said. "Only... where do The Destinies live? I know about them, but we never actually heard of where they live..." Beth gestured to herself and Janey.

"Since the shop's closed now, we can take you. We know, since they've ordered from us quite a few times and asked for deliveries..." Sadie said.

"Yeah, hardly anyone knows where they live! We feel honoured that they let us know!" Katie said.

"That would be great. Thanks. I really do feel over my head with this..." Bridgette said.

"Anything to help Queen Dawn's daughter save Aquarius!" Katie smiled.

"Great." Bridgette smiled weakly.

"Now The Destinies live down at the edge of Seashell Street, so we should get moving now..." Sadie led the way out.

* * *

"I'm here for advice on how to make the people of Aquarius love me even more!" Heather exclaimed as she entered the home of The Destinies.

"Cool it, Queen Heather! You don't need to get all sassy with us!" A larger mermaid with dark brown skin, black hair pulled into a ponytail and large, hoop earrings retorted.

"Besides, you can't just make the people of Aquarius love you. You can't just make someone love you at all!" Another mermaid, this one with light brown skin, dark purple hair pulled back into a braid and a light yellow tail exclaimed.

"Yeah, she's right. And you're interrupting my hair time by the way. Seamoss Spray doesn't just apply itself by the way..." A mermaid with wavy dark hair, orange-brown looking skin and a magenta tail said, spraying her hair with a dark green spray can.

Queen Heather growled in frustration. "If you don't help me, I'll..." She was about to threaten them when they all stopped what they were doing, swam closer together and their eyes glowed.

_"Queen Dawn's daughter is here in Aquarius..." _The largest mermaid said in a creepy tone.

"What? No way!" Heather exclaimed.

_"Queen Dawn's daughter will destroy you..."_ The purple-haired mermaid said in an equally creepy tone.

"Absolutely not!" Heather exclaimed.

_"She will free Queen Dawn and restore her rightful place as Queen of Aquarius instead of you..." _The magenta-tailed mermaid finished in a tone just as creepy as the others.

"You're wrong! All three of you are wrong!" Queen Heather exclaimed angrily.

The Destinies shook their heads and resumed their normal looks and voices.

"Oh no. We're never wrong." The purple-haired mermaid insisted cheerfully.

"Tell me how to stop her!" Heather commanded angrily.

"We most certainly will not. It's against our principles to intervene in the matters of fate!" The magenta-tailed mermaid said.

"So we ain't budging!" The largest mermaid folded her arms across her chest.

Heather growled in frustration as she turned and swam for the door.

"Then I'll find Dawn's daughter and destroy her myself!" She said angrily, slamming the door behind her.

"Jeez, what a grouch..." The purple-haired mermaid said and the other two nodded in agreement.

* * *

Beth, Janey, Bridgette, Katie and Sadie swam towards a large house near the more deserted end of Seashell Street.

"That's it right there." Sadie pointed it out.

As they swam closer, they noticed that Queen Heather's seashell carriage was already parked outside The Destinies' house.

"Oh no! We'll have to hide until she leaves!" Beth and Janey pulled Bridgette into a clump of seaweed and just in time as Queen Heather swam out of the house furiously, shouting.

"Then I'll find Dawn's daughter and destroy her myself!" She said angrily.

"Eep!" Bridgette's eyes widened in fear.

"Oh no! She knows Bridgette's in Aquarius!" Katie whispered in horror.

But before they too could hide, Queen Heather spotted them.

"Uh-oh..." Sadie said as they froze.

"You two! What are you two doing here?" She asked them, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, er... We were here to deliver a new store catalogue to The Destinies! They came in this afternoon and they asked us to bring them a copy!" Katie said.

"Yeah! Here's one for you, Queen Heather!" Sadie pulled one out of her satchel and handed it to her.

"Yeah! It's filled with all the newest, most trendy, most fashionable fashions in all the oceans!" Katie played along.

Heather snatched it from Sadie's hand and tossed it to Ezekiel, who was waiting outside the carriage and he put it away for her.

"Very well. I will be sure to have a look at it later. You know I just _love_ keeping up with the latest fashions..." Queen Heather swam to the carriage, but turned around suddenly.

"Oh, since you're here, you can be the_ first_ to hear my new Royal Decree..." Queen Heather smiled a smile that truly creeped Katie and Sadie out.

"Any strangers in the Kingdom of Aquarius should be reported to _me._ Anyone who fails to do so will be sent to the deepest trench at the bottom of the ocean." She said, looking smug as she entered her carriage.

"Ezekiel, let's go!" Heather shouted.

They waited until Queen Heather was well out of sight and swam over to where they knew Beth, Janey and Bridgette were hiding.

Bridgette looked truly terrified.

"She knows I'm here! What are we going to do!" She asked.

"She knows you're in Aquarius but she doesn't know what you look like or that we know you. Keep a cool head on!" Janey exclaimed.

"Yeah. I really feel like panicking myself right now but that's not going to help us at all!" Beth said.

"All the better that we help Bridgette free Queen Dawn as quickly as possible!" Katie and Sadie shoved Beth, Bridgette and Janey towards the door of The Destinies' house.

* * *

"Oh hey, Katie! Hey Sadie! I see you brought some friends with you!" The purple-haired mermaid exclaimed.

"Yeah, we knew you would anyway..." The orange-brown skinned mermaid said casually.

"Care to introduce them? Not that we don't already know, but still..." The largest mermaid said.

"Well, this is Beth, Janey and... _Bridgette..._" Katie pointed to each as she spoke.

"Bridgette is Queen Dawn's daughter..." Sadie said.

"It's good to meet you after all this time, Princess Bridgette. I'm Sierra!" The purple haired mermaid said. "This is LeShawna..." She pointed towards the largest mermaid, who waved. "...and Anne Maria..." She pointed towards the mermaid with the orangish-brown skin.

"Whatever." Anne Maria said casually.

"And we are... _The Destinies..._" Sierra said in a spooky tone.

"Nice to meet you, I guess?" Bridgette said hesitantly.

"You don't need to be nervous around us girl! Unlike dear old Queen Heather..." LeShawna said sarcastically. "...we won't hurt you."

"Bridgette needs your help. Can you give her any advice on how to defeat Queen Heather? Any at all?" Sadie asked.

"We could try, but we don't just do visions on dema..." Anne Maria trailed off as she and the other two Destinies stopped what they were doing, swam closer together and their eyes glowed again, just as they did with the vision that they gave Queen Heather.

_"In order for you to defeat Queen Heather, you will need three mystical tools spread far and wide across the ocean..." _Sierra started as Bridgette, Beth and Janey who had never seen The Destinies in action before looked on in awe.

_"You shall need the Celestial Comb, you will need to earn the trust of a Dreamfish and you will need to get Queen Heather's very own protective necklace..." _Anne Maria said.

_"Only with these three items shall Queen Dawn's daughter stand a chance of defeating Queen Heather and restoring peace and balance to these waters..." _LeShawna finished as they went back to normal.

"Well, that was an interesting vision, don't you think?" Anne Maria asked the other two, who nodded in agreement.

"Well there you go! You need to get the Celestial Comb, the trust of a Dreamfish and Queen Heather's protective necklace! That's all we can do for you. We can't tell you exactly where they are. Sorry!" Sierra said apologetically.

"That's okay. You've been a great help." Katie said.

"Oh by the way, this is for you girls!" Sadie handed a store catalogue to LeShawna, who immediately looked impressed as she flicked through the pages.

"Ooh! Girl, these clothes look gorgeous!" LeShawna exclaimed.

"Oh by the way, good luck! We can't interfere with your quest, but we do hope you get through with it. I can't _stand_ Queen Heather." LeShawna shuddered.

* * *

As they swam away, the team wondered what to do now.

"So, the Celestial Comb, a Dreamfish and Queen Heather's protective necklace. How do we do _that?_" Bridgette asked.

"We'll find a way. We're in too deep now to give up..." Beth said.


End file.
